Belters

It has been nearly 300 years since Humanity began to expand across the star system. Humans have to come to colonize many places in the solar system. Mars, Luna, Ganymede, Europa, and large asteroids across the belt. Many places in the belt struggle to survive, relying on the mining operations in conjunction with Mars, Europa, and Earth. Out on the belt people go missing, kill each other, and stations fight openly against each other over asteroid claims in the belt. Many of the stations are owned by either Earth or Mars and will often distrust each other, as well as distrust their "owners." In the recent decades there has been a building tension in the belt towards Independence from foreign powers. The horrid work conditions and poor payouts have caused a stir in nationality for the Belters, however Independence remains just out of grasp as Earth corporations and Martian investment groups hold stations hostage with oxygen and water supplies. The belt is becoming a powder keg and you are stuck out here, for whatever reason. Hopefully things won't go too bad in the days to come.

MAKING A CHARACTERChoose a skill to master, one to be Skilled in, and one to be proficient in.Choose 3 Innate Skills you want to be "trained" in.Choose a weapon to be proficient and one to be trained in.Choose a home worldChoose a job on your ship

ALL OTHER GEAR AS PRICEDARMOR gains an DR value equal to its AC bonus.

HOMEWORLD:

Earth: You are physically stronger than any non earther and are often good at Deliberation between people. You are often more trusting of other people due to the communal lives of the people of Earth. (You will often be discriminated against out on the belt)(HP 12 +1 Dice on Conversation, Athletics or Endurance +1 Difficulty Dice on Insight)

Mars: You are more intellectual, having been born into a society built on the backs of the greatest scientists and are often very effective at reading people compared to Earthers and Belters. (you will be disliked on the belt but more trusted than an Earther)

Belter: You were born out on one of the moons or in a space station in the belt. Gravity is harsh to you but you've adapted to being able to spot things that others couldn't see in the blackness of space. You are also adept at conversation since it is one of the few ways to pass the time. You may choose an extra skill to be proficient in.(HP 8. +1 Dice on Perception, Conversation, and Acrobatics. +1 Difficulty Dice on Athletics and Endurance)

Earth Government: Earth is primarily owned by mega corporations that own large sections of land they use to fund their corporate empires. The only official government is the One World Governance that looks over both Earth and the Moon. The OWG has a great deal of naval power and is only rivaled by the smaller but more advanced Martian fleet. Earth will often enforce Corporate efforts with their navy in order to protect profits and property.

Mars Government: Mars is run by a government heavy Socialist government. Its people are united strongly under their desire to turn Mars into a paradise like Earth. The government still relies on Earth for some things but has learned to flex its muscles against the Corporations of Earth. For the past century Earth and Mars have been fighting a Cold War of Technology that Mars has the edge on.

Belter Government: Each station has its own local government that works with whatever Corporation that technically owns it. The people are often seen as something similar to property. Most stations don't have any form of legitimate police force and are often kept in order by private security corporations. Many belters that serve earth corps as cops are often hated more than earthers.

JOBS:

Captain (You are the face of the party and make the decisions. Bonus to talking to other captains and contractors)

Weaponeer (2x) (Bonus against boarding Vessels in ship combat)

Hauler (4x) (Bonus with moving in Zero G and Machine Usage)

Maintenance (4x) (choose: Get a bonus on ship or gear Maintenance)

Computer Engineer (Get a bonus to computing or Gear Maintenance)

Pilot (Choose: Bonus ti combat or non-combat maneuvering)

Medic (Can perform Surgery and treat long term illnesses)

Scientist (Bonus to Robotics or Physics and Chem)

Security (2x) (Gain an extra Weapon Proficiency)

Prospector (2x) (Gain bonus to spotting irregularities in radar and spotting other abnormalities)

How it works:

So for the most part the game will be held over the forum and hopefully moved to Roll20 at some point if it lasts long enough for me to move back to the US. Might do it while here as well but that's rather tricky

When talking with another player it is suggested whoever started the conversation to post the entire conversation as their post. this means that you will type it out in steam or talk it out in mumble. This isn't necessary or important, just encouraged for the sake of not overflowing the thing with one sentence posts.

Secondly whenever someone makes a skill check they will roll on the following dice sight and just tell us the outcome, I trust you. http://game2.ca/eote/#ability=5&difficulty=3You will always roll a base of 1 green and 1 purple. Green is a normal dice and purple is a negative dice. Trained: +1 DiceProficient: +2 DiceSkilled: +3 DiceMaster: +4 Dice

Consult the table below to understand the symbols.Each mark of success makes your skill check better or deal more damage if fighting (1 more damage per extra success)Advantage gives you some form of luck from the outcome, whether you failed or not.Each Failure makes the skill worseThreat brings some form of bad luck. Don't worry about Triumph and Despair.

As for determining the difficulty of a test, I will describe it in a post, but if you choose to make an action without waiting for me to post then try to follow these basic guidlines. (Ippy... make better guidlines for me)

Consider the complexity of the task. Is it something your character would truly be used to? In regards to ships, is it a ship size you understand or ship components of a familiar origin and size (Homeworld for familiarity)? For guns use the range and add a negative die for each range increment.In regards to any skill you should really think about how a person would go about doing that and how difficult it might be.

Born and raised on the Belt, Pedro new there was more to life then the chunk of rock he grew up on. He lived in a small house with most of his immediate family most of his life. His grandfathers Diego and Renaldo would tell him stories of the beautiful blue oceans and the lush green hills from their home world, Earth. The stories of this mysterious planet were all Pedro dreamed of. His father Enrique told Pedro that if he ever wanted to visit Earth he would need to do one of two things; sneak aboard a transport ship going to Earth or get a job on one of those ships. Pedro had a few cousins in jail already for their stupid choices so he decided to start studying. He wasn't the smartest person, nor was he fond of violence, so Pedro began looking into a more technical field. After years of studying, Pedro finally managed to get his mechanics license. It took a few dozen attempts, but eventually Pedro was accepted on to small Platypus Class Freighter; The "Insert Name Here." As a congratulations for all his hard work Pedro's father presented him with a brand new Monkey Wrench. Pedro new it wasn't much, but he excepted the gift with all his heart. With his new tool on his back and his dream ever closer Pedro took his first step on the "Insert name here." He didn't know if his first mission would take him where he wanted to know, but he knew he'd get there soon.

Last edited by Nailo41 on Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:08 pm; edited 9 times in total

How are robotics & computing distinct? Is robotics computing + gear maintenance? Where is the line drawn between machine usage & gear maintenance? Gear maintenance & ship maintenance? Do hauler's fly/operate secondary craft standardly? Do jobs affect our proficiencies (what do they do)? What's computing? What does security entail (do they handle logins or count inventory)? What's a weaponeer? Can you make software with computing without being a computer engineer? Can medic's go full doctor/be surgeons? Do they need first aid? Are heavy weapons a weapon class? If you spoil the expanse I will CUT you.

Backstory:Swan was born the youngest to lower-upper class Earthers struggling to maintain their position. Rather than put Swan through the expensive school systems, he was submitted to a newly established cadet academy as a matter of planetary pride. The academy quickly revealed Swan's propensity for violence, and as soon as it was legally reasonable Swan had been moved into psychiatric facilities and subjected to various treatments. A belter terrorist attack targeted at an adjacent prison resulted in the escape of inmates and psychiatric patients, including Swan. Believing himself cured of his bloodlust, Swan fled Earth into space and easily signed on various jobs utilizing his cadet skillset and Earthen vitality. He ultimately aims to return to Earth and his family after the termination of his psychiatric stay with a proven record of sociable behavior. He keeps redundant backups of his letters of recommendation amongst various hosting services on the Starnet.

Last edited by Ippy on Sun Mar 26, 2017 3:49 pm; edited 8 times in total

@ Rock'emsock'em there is no exact issue with power anywhere in the system, most of the problems come from precious minerals and foodstuffs. Obviously most political disagreements come from the ideologies of the worlds and how they treat each other. Proper drinkable water is a huge issue as filtering materials are difficult to come by as well as the required quantities of water to support the systems 38 Billion people. Whats even more difficult is shipping those supplies between Mars, the Belt, and Earth. Mars is also in the middle of their terraforming stages and they require materials from the belt in extensive quantity. Mars has also not been given pure Independence because Earth restricts their trade highly with heavy handed trade tactics and corporate control of most mines on the belt.

Humans are on the brink of being a Type one Civ, though it is under debate as to whether or not they are a type one. Our technology is very similar to what we have now, but without many limitations. Think of Guns as being similar to Mass effect guns with battery packs that power a miniaturized rail gun. We also have plasma weapons but they are difficult to miniaturize for humans. Antimatter weapons also exist but are still extremely expensive.

Ships use standard propulsion set ups but with increased outputs by using funneled radioactive particles to accelerate normal fuel at an increased pace. Huge ships will have their own fusion engines.

Most Fusion based reactors have a limited lifespan due to the degrading of materials, but since this is a new tech people believe that by the end of the century we will have completely self sustained reactors.

Ceres is Independent, but funded heavily by Mars and Earth. has only been populated for 100 years.

@ IppyHow are robotics & computing distinct? Robotics refers to the usage and hardware and software assembly of robotics. Is robotics computing + gear maintenance? No, not quite, Gear maintenance is refering to space suits, drills, and small gear. Where is the line drawn between machine usage & gear maintenance? Machine Usage is basically your knowledge and training in using drills, asteroid explosives, asteroid collection netting, and collecting materials. Gear maintenance & ship maintenance? Ship maintenance is things like ship engine repair and computer repairs, oxygen filter repairs, and so on.Do hauler's fly/operate secondary craft standardly? Some haulers on larger vessel would, but your ship uses EVA haulers to set everything up to the ship. Do jobs affect our proficiencies (what do they do)? No they just determine what you do with your shitty life. What's computing? Computing is simply the usage of high tech computer and computer programs. As well as hacking and understanding of computer components. What does security entail (do they handle logins or count inventory)? Yeah, but you also deal with pirates if boarding happens What's a weaponeer? A weaponeer is someone that controls the weapons systems of a ship during a fight. Can you make software with computing without being a computer engineer? yes, but the computer engineer job might have a better pay than some other jobs so... you know, be greedy. Can medic's go full doctor/be surgeons? Yep Do they need first aid? Its recommended, but first aid is more of reference to field emergencies, so a doctor may only know how to do ship properly when he is in his med bay and may not know field medic work very well. Are heavy weapons a weapon class? Thanks! I knew i forgot something, in fact i probably forgot more because i made this a 8 in the morning after being awake for some 30 hours. If you spoil the expanse I will CUT you. Had no intention of that, in fact im staying away from that completely and just using the settings.

Ok so if anyone has anymore questions or suggestions please bring them so we can get this flushed out and start. You cna ask more about places as well if you want to. Some more back story or something.

You guys are going to start out as smaller 20 man crew on a small Hauling vessel of a Platypus Class light freighter. It is small and cramped for a crew of your size, only having 14 beds. It is mostly has exterior holds for attaching cargo, but has very small interior cargo space. It is an older model ship but is streamlines and reliable. It has 2 Weapons systems, one being a missile pod system on the topside (primarily for asteroid interception) and a machine cannon (primarily for fending of small pirates) You officially work for an Earth owned Corp that has hired a large grouping of ships to search the belt for Platinum and Iridium deposits.

Last edited by LokiLeader on Mon Feb 20, 2017 10:22 am; edited 1 time in total

Yeah your weapon martial arts can use a club, which can easily be supplemented by a wrench. All ships have a port Number on them after their official title name. So if you called your ship the Seraph it would actually be called The Seraph 1313 (Democlise Station ship yards has the designation 1313 and they make the Platypus.)

The 20th crew member is kind of just a fill in slot. No player needs to be captain but its already taken by Ethan anyway. Weaponeers are the people that calibrate weapons in their off time and waste space when they are not doing that. They shoot down debris that could harm your ship. They are tasked with preventing boarding which is why they get a bonus on shooting down small boarding ships. Security takes care of boarders or pirates in person (instead of ship to ship) and any internal threats like people who have gone crazy. Also you will start in port with TP (transaction Points) to buy some gear and food. After all, everyone just got back from their respective hauls recently and the pay was rather nice. (2000 TP)

So another backstory bit is that you are all new to the ship. Ethan recently aquired the Platypus and was hired on to find a crew. Everyone else either knew Ethan from the get go or joined his crew after leaving their old ship because reasons.

The only simulated Gravity is basically done through centrifugal force and magnetic boots.

Most items available are from this, I will add more or change it to a better system thing when I have time and care. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/goods-and-services/technological-gear/

I am most assuredly a new hire. Is it ok if this is my first job? Will the ship be supplying us with food and water or are we to bring our own? Idc for any name suggested so far. Not even the one I put forth

Yes one TP is basically one Gold. The ship has a supply of food and water, as well as its own mini hydroponic farm for some GM potatoes. However fancy things like Liquor and sweets come out of your pocket. Also out on the belt alcohol has a 50% increase in cost and sweets a 200% increase in cost (implying that a snickers bar goes for 1TP and is now 3TP out in the belt.)

As for names, why not pick up something in another language. The common languages are Chinese, English, and Hindi. Russian can be seen everwhere as well but its not common to know it. You can also know 2 languages of your choice, being any languages on earth.

Can broken batteries be fixed?Can we still use skill chips? (Skill chip-robotics) for example.I'm assuming I can speak spanish, si?Noble is the captain so they can pick the name, whatever they want gets my vote.How much are my tools going to cost me? My monkey wrench aka club?

Assuming you have the right components you can repair just about anything. Sometimes some parts are too shot to repair or it might be cheaper to replace the whole system.

Skills chips exist now as I am about to update the main thingy with stats (based on your homeworld)weapon stats will follow at one point, followed by armor and health. I will find some more cost thingies.

TROLOLOLOL at the table. Also there is a station exactly like the one you have in your picture called Eden station. Only Corporate folk and rich mother fuckers live there though.

I would also like abit of backstory on what you guys might aim to do or what kind of life you grew up in. For Ethan I will follow up on a few dossiers that will be available crew for random spots on the ship. These will be crew member with more backstory and personality.

It has beam weapons but they are expensive as fuck. I believe they are located in the tech pages somewhere. There are two weapon types for most guns being Kinetic Energy and Light Energy. Some weapons will use Thermal or Magnetic energy but those are not so common.

So in essence, scatter light suits are shit unless you are fighting against folks with some majour cash. However all suits of armor are sealed, meaning they have limited life support systems but can hold in the vacuum of space. Im not sure if there are space suits in the tech pages but if there isnt i will make some.